“The industrial market will be the top performing core asset class for the second year running as the drive towards greater e-commerce and competition for space drives up rents, particularly in London and the South East. The conflicting demand for industrial and residential space in these areas is likely to see the first truly integrated industrial mixed use scheme come to fruition in 2018 as evolving design techniques make these schemes increasingly viable,” predicts Mark Charlton, Head of UK Research & Forecasting.

Concluding, Walter Boettcher, Chief Economist at Colliers International adds; “Whilst official Brexit negotiations have floundered, investment in UK property markets have, by-and-large, continued to press on with business as usual. This has, and will continue to be, driven by the sheer weight of capital with global institutions targeting a ten percent-plus allocation to real estate, equivalent to around $5 trillion.

“In 2018 the UK government will have no choice but to shed some light on the Brexit strategy, which will bring a welcome boost of confidence to the occupier and investment markets.”